Plow hitch with traction-control linkage



April 1951 R. J. BURKHOLDER 2, 47,438

PLOW HITCH WITH TRACTION CONTROL LINKAGE Filed June 21, 1948 IL [.9 v

/5 l7 23 R 2a 25' 6 I I6 /5 f. Fig.3. 6 /5 I. //7 l5 v? 6' I Robert .1. Burk/ro/der I INVENTOR.

BY panama (Fwy BM Patentecl Apr. 3, 1951 "UNITED STATES -PLOW HITCH WITH TRAGTIONvGONTROL LINKAGE Robert di Bur-kholderfhloel'filvlo. *Application-"June 21, 1948;5SeiialLNo; 34519.0

' ""The present invention relates .to'..agriciiltural machineswingeneral and has .re'ference, 'inlp'ar- I, icu lanto a -itractor, -a k-plo'w, hitch or .fcoupling -mearis between the two and, more. mparucuiar,

s-special linkage lbetweerilthe plow and tractor, i- -vwhich -servestotransmit mechanical force which g utilized to'hold the wheels brine .tractoriin eflective traction -=contact with the surface 'travsie rsed.

, wMore specifioallypthe.inventionhas .to do with anarrangement- .of correctly chosen mechanical l expe dien'ts- -which drnbine and -coactto provide lthe- .-stated -linkage thelatter being such. and so @arrangedin-respect to theplow and tractor that the forward:and-downwardmovement ofethe plow -beam,- caused by the resistance of .lthe ground to .the: plow .sharepis -iutilized as a source of energy, f thelatter force'beingtransniitted by way iofisaid -';linkage and imposed on the rearsend portion of g lincludes a beam 9;.sa'id beam being horizontal and parallel to the plow share 8.

The -dr=aftframe -which serves .to hitchw'and thus rcouple'the plow Ito-the tra'ctorrfi .isldenoted, lasean entity, by the numeral ll]. saidirameiis of-general V-shapediorm and..embodies .a,pa'ir sofsforwardly converging. arms or.-;limbs l-.l conenectedttogether at their rear orstrailing ends by a cross piece l2. The for-wardendsof thearms @110 are pivotally connected-as at l3sto oppositeisides "f the tractor-chassis.

Bellcranks M are pivotally .mounted .onuup- .:sta-nding ears whichtare, in turn,-,rigidly- -supported *on the tractor -body orchassis in-theimanmar -.shownin the :drawings. -.The.lower1armsl6 mof .said bellcranks diverge-andcarry .U shaped -links ll whichstraddle and -are hingedly-connected to the intermediateportions ofIthe arms 1H, Theuupper arms of .the-bellcranks are bent th t t l eq ently 'lthe whe'els (of the toward. and converge @withoneanother as at i t8,

latter, whereby the stated wheels are pressed into effective tractioncontactzwith the earth or other surface traversed.

More specifically, in reducing tojpractice a preandsterminate ineeara l9 .which servefto accommodate an end portion of a tur'nbuckleii). More i.-specifically,-:theinternallyscrewethreadedltubular member 2| 01"- th turnbuckle has=a.head.22

ferr ed embodiment of the invention, I merely at+a1i :onits '-forward end which-ispivotally mounted "tac'h a'si'mple'draft frameto"the'wheel supported rear end of a tractor, hitchthe'beam of a conventional-plow on the trailing-end of the frame and-install the improved linkage by connecting one *endiportion with theaplow beam sand (the I other end portion with-thechassis of theltractor,

whrebythe tumble actionof-t-he plow and its beam serves to provide energy and satisfactTa-ry everagewhereby theenergyis thus captured and -wappliedias a force which r-isa-sufiic'ient to m'a'i-ntain the tractor wheels in effective tractive and driving contact with the ground.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing a portion of a tractor, one wheel being removed, showing a conventional plow, and the improved traction control linkage as constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a rear end elevation of the structure as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawings by distinguishing reference numerals, the body or chassis of the tractor is denoted, in a general manner, by the numeral 5 and embodies ground contacting traction driving wheels 6.

The plow, which is also conventional, is denoted by the numeral 1 and includes a blade or plow share 8 which is integral with a frame which s between said ears -I 9. s :Sim'ilar: ears .23 areformed atop the upright-or post 24 which is.rigidly.at-

stached to. and risesatrightangles.fromthe beam 9 and these serveto-accommodate ablock-like 3O adapter 25 which is ,pivotallymountecl between said. ears as at 26. The-adapter is carried Joy -=thescrew-threaded rod -member 21 of- ;the turnbuckle, This rod memberis also .turnableiinlthe -adapter block and said blocki-is self-leveling.

Then, too,'a hand wheel .28 .is..mountedrigidly on one end of the rod and is provided with a hand crank 29 for convenience of operation. The

numerals 30 designate stays which are connected at opposite ends to the beam and post, respec- 40 tively. The stays are effective braces. It might be mentioned that the forward end of the plow beam is pivotally mounted on the draft frame.

More specifically, the beam 9 is rigidly connected to the intermediate portion of the cross-piece I2 and the ends of the cross-piece are journaled in appropriate bearings [2a provided on the rear end portions of the arms or limbs ll. However,

any suitable means other than shown may be employed to hingedly hitch the forward end of the plow beam to the trailing end of the draft frame.

7 It is obvious that, in use, resistance of the earth and soil to the movement of the plow, as it is pulled along, causes the plow to bob up and 5 down and to tumble or tilt forwardly and this, in

turn, tilts the plow beam forwardly and downwardly. By rigidly connecting the post means to the hingedly mounted plow beam, said post means serves to provide a lever which lever forces 0 the turnbuckle or linkage forwardly. The turn- 3 buckle, in turn, porting brackets or lugs l5 and imposes a downward thrust on the brackets and consequently on the chassis of the tractor and, in addition, forces the tractor wheels into firm tractive contact with the ground. Force is also applied to assist in this downward pressure of the tractor wheels through the medium of the frame arms I I. This is accomplished by the upward ride of the bellcrank arms is and the lift imparted thereto by the link connections 11 between said bellcranks and arms I l. The arms ll, through their connections with the tractor chassis, tend to drive the chassis down and the force or load thus imposed, presses the wheels into firm driving contact with the ground or other surface traversed.

The degree or amount of traction is automatically established and regulated and increases as the resistance of the plow share increases since the counter-thrust forward from the post through the turnbuckle and associated linkage means causes the lower bellcrank arms, through the links H, to lift or pull up on the arms I I thereby causing downward pressure on the elbow portions of the bellcranks and consequently the brackets [5 to which they are attached.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthly description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in the shape, size and arrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In combination, a conventional-type plow embodying a frame having a plow-share and a horizontal beam, a tractor including a wheel-supported chassis, a draft frame embodying a pair of oppositely disposed substantially horizontal forwardly converging arms, said arms being hingedly attached at their forward ends to the trailing end portion of the chassis of the tractor at points on a plane above the center of gravity of the latter, a cross-piece at rightangles to and hingedly mounted between the trailing-ends of rocks the bellcranks on their sup- 1 said arms, said plow beam being rigidly connected to the median portion of said cross-piece in order to hingedly attach the plow to the trailing end portion of said frame, a pair of complemental bellcranks hingedly mounted on the rear end portion of the chassis, links hingediy mounted on said bellcrank arms and hingedly connected to the intermediate portions of said frame arms, and force transmitting means connected with the bellcranks and with said plow beam including a hand regulated turnbuckle.

2. In combination, a conventional-type plow embodying a frame having a plow-share and a horizontal beam, a tractor including a wheelsupported chassis, a draft frame embodying a pair of substantially horizontal forwardly converging arms, said arms being hingedly attached at their forward ends to the trailing end portion of the chassis of the tractor, a cross-piece hingedly mounted between the trailin ends of said arms, said plow beam being connected to said cross-piece in order to hingedly attach the plow to the trailing end portion of said frame, a pair of bellcranks hingedly mounted on the rear end portion of the chassis, links hingedly mounted on said bellcrank arms and hingedly connected to the intermediate portions of said first arms, force transmitting means connected with the bellcranks and with said plow beam including a hand regulated turnbuckle, and further including a vertical post rigidly mounted on said plow beam, a portion of the turnbuckle being connected to the upper end of said post and a portion of the turnbuckle being connected to the upstanding arms of the bellcranks.

ROBERT J. BURKHOLDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,195,516 Ferguson Apr. 2, 1940 2,309,750 Carrington Feb. 2, 1943 2,347,898 Ferguson May 2, 1944 2,440,550 Martin Apr. 2'7, 1948 2,455,727 Bunting Dec. 7, 1948 2,460,847 Schwarz Feb. 8, 1949 

